File photo by Dave Houghton© X (formerly Twitter)
Zimbabwe coach Dave Houghton has resigned following the country’s failure to reach next year’s T20 World Cup, the national board announced on Wednesday. “The Zimbabwe Cricket Board has accepted the resignation of Dave Houghton from his position as head coach of the Zimbabwe senior men’s national team with immediate effect,” the board said in a statement. “Houghton said he had ‘lost the dressing room’ after 18 months in charge and felt a ‘new voice’ was needed to take the team forward,” the statement added. His resignation letter was sent just ahead of a board meeting on Wednesday to look into the World Cup campaign. Zimbabwe lost to Namibia and Uganda at a recent qualifying tournament. Zimbabwe have also just been beaten in a limited overs series against Ireland.
Houghton, 66, replaced Lalchand Rajput as Zimbabwe coach last June after six ODIs and a 220-run loss at home to Afghanistan.
The board said he would be assigned a “new role within the organization”.
“Dave will always be a legend in our game and it is with regret that he felt the dressing room needed a new voice,” said chairman Tavengwa Mukuhlani.
“While the last few months have been disappointing as we failed to qualify for both the 50-over World Cup and the T20 World Cup, they should not obscure all the work he has done over the past year to rebuild the foundations for long-term success.”
Houghton, who captained the team in their first four Tests and 17 one-day internationals, commented: “I have always had Zimbabwe cricket at heart and although my coaching of the national team ends, I would love to be involved in other areas.
“The talent base in Zimbabwe is huge. How we move players from talented to performing well on the international stage is a fantastic project to be involved in.”
The board said an interim management team would be appointed for a trip to Sri Lanka in January.
It has also set up a committee that has been given three weeks to look into the World Cup failures and the national structure.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)
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